Chris > What I would really love to know is what happened next? I would have thought that he would have done his best to ensure that you, or anyone else for that matter, didn't find that information, and I would hazard a guess that he probably changed his name in order to leave Oz for the UK, probably as part of the crew of a merchant vessel ? >is there a book or website which can describe the training RN training ships were introduced into the Royal Navy around the early 1860s, and initially at least, the training appears to have been very basic, and much of the training continued to take place on board ship. But soon training ships were set up, at least for boy seamen and you should probably get a good idea as to what a seaman was expected to learn in the "Boy's Manual of Seamanship and Gunnery," preface dated 1871, that I've put on line at : http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/B_S_M/Contents.html Most certainly an eye opener IMHO, and probably suggests that most seamen were probably literate ! Paul On Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:27:21 +0000, Chris Gilham <chrisgilham@hotmail.com> wrote: >Hello Listers > >I have just discovered that my great grandfather was a boy when he enlisted in >the royal navy in 1868, when he was sent to HMS Fisgard. Later he served on HMS >Clio and HMS Sandfly, but jumped ship whilst the HMS Sandfly was docked in >Sydney harbour in 1875. The Victorian Gazette put out a sort of 'wanted poster' >for him offering a £3 reward. What I >would really love to know is what happened next? He obviously managed to >return to England, as he was married in London in 1879 - perhaps he returned on a merchant ship; but, is there any way of discovering the >facts? Possibly I'll never know, but if anyone on the list can help, I would >appreciate it. > > > >Also , is there a book or website which can describe the training >aboard HMS Fisgard in the 1860s to early >1870s, please? > > > >Many thanks. > > > >Chris > > > > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to MARINERS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message 50° 33' N, 2° 26' W http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/Naval.html